Did Xandros sign a Novell-like patent deal with Microsoft? Yes.

Looks like there could be another Microsoft-Linux patent deal in the offing. Signs point to Linux vendor Xandros signing a "patent-protection" deal with Microsoft akin to the one Novell inked last November.

Looks like there could be another Microsoft-Linux patent deal in the offing.

eWEEK posted a story a few hours ago entitled "Microsoft Gives Xandros Linux Users Patent Protection." The story is now gone from the Web site.

My best guess? There's some embargoed news coming some time in the next few hours. (Note: I was not put under or offered any Xandros-Microsoft embargo.)

Based on eWEEK's now-disappeared headline, it sure looks like Xandros may have gone the Novell route and signed a patent-protection deal with Microsoft. (The other possibility is eWEEK believed Xandros was ready to sign on the dotted line, but didn't. My educated guess is there is a deal and eWEEK jumped the gun in publishing the "exclusive" story. Guess we'll find out for sure in a few more hours.)

But as Microsoft and Novell have stated (and restated) many times since the two inked their patent deal in November 2006, all's fair in "coopetition."

What do you think of Xandros' decision to follow in Novell's, Fuji Xerox's and Samsung's footsteps by basically admitting it is infringing on Microsoft's patents? (Yes, this is obviously my characterization, and not Microsoft's or its new best friends'.)

"Intellectual property assurance. Through the agreement, Microsoft will make available patent covenants for Xandros customers. These covenants will provide customers with confidence that the Xandros technologies they use and deploy in their environments are compliant with Microsoft's intellectual property. By putting a framework in place to share intellectual property, Xandros and Microsoft can speed the development of interoperable solutions. "

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